


when morning comes we will remember

by dotdotmoon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Diners, Established Relationship, M/M, it's fluffy anyway! they're doing their best, the crushing weight of capitalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 14:29:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21648517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotdotmoon/pseuds/dotdotmoon
Summary: Kyungsoo is late for breakfast, Yixing finally got the gist of magic, and Sehun is not just their waiter but also their favourite third wheel.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	when morning comes we will remember

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dreamy_Ideal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamy_Ideal/gifts).

> for a friend i wanted to write a halloween drabble for... initial idea inspired by this [tumblr post](https://shumner.tumblr.com/post/187362813133/date-night); the idea of dream/nightmare workers was supplied by my friend.  
congratulations on you-know-what!! 💜
> 
> 🎶 title based on a line of "she's dreaming" by exo
> 
> extended content notes:  
\- food  
\- venting about working under capitalism?

"You're doing it again," Kyungsoo said as he was draping something over his shoulders. "You're going to have to charge this place if you keep this up."

Yixing didn't look up from where he was slumped over the diner table, not even when Kyungsoo pulled his arm out from under his head and awkwardly guided it into the sleeve of what must be his work coat. The heavy fabric warmed up immediately, and Yixing felt a little less like he was going to get frostbite anytime now.

"Work with me here?" Kyungsoo had climbed over him, standing on the seat, tugging at his other arm now. Yixing folded his free arm under himself again, held out his other arm, burrowing face-down into the coat sleeve.

"They're not going to like you climbing their furniture with your boots on," he murmured.

Kyungsoo finished bundling him up with a snort, then squeezed his entire person into the small space between Yixing and the window. "I'll wipe it clean with my butt."

Yixing felt him wiggling around and smiled into his arms. He frankly didn't care enough to even attempt to imagine the owner of the diner kicking them out. They came here every morning, after all, and often stayed until sundown, ordering food every few hours. If anyone were to complain about having to sit in Kyungsoo's dirt, it would be Kyungsoo himself.

"Long night?" Kyungsoo asked.

It wasn't a question he had to answer. Both of their shifts lasted longer during winter. Yixing had considered moving, following summer all year round, but given up when his boss had threatened him with permanent on-call duty and even longer commutes he'd have to pay out of his own pocket.

"Ready to order?" Sehun's voice came from beside them.

Yixing felt their bodies brushing when Kyungsoo reached over his back. It was sweet how he still looked at the menu every night, although they'd been coming here for years. It never changed, except for the custom items Sehun had scribbled on the back of the last page after he got too tired of discussing prices with Kyungsoo.

"I'll take the usual," Kyungsoo said. "He does, too. Do you have a beanie and a blanket for us?"

Sehun made a sound that probably translated to _it's on the last page of the menu_, but he sounded nowhere near exasperated.

"Have you eaten?" Kyungsoo asked, as if he'd forgotten Sehun sat down with them every evening. "Your usual too, then."

"You're not paying for my dinner again," Sehun protested.

"Then I will," Yixing said, a bit louder so they'd hear him, then raised his head to look at Sehun, as sternly as he could. "Or did you get your raise yet?"

Sehun turning on his heels to put in their orders was enough of an answer.

"This hellhole and its five percent staff discount," Yixing said, resting his cheek on his folded arms so he could look at Kyungsoo. "Six years and they're still paying him as much as when he started here."

Kyungsoo hummed in agreement, hastily got up when someone placed their bag on the seat across from them to tell them it was taken and bow in apology. He was still in his work pants and a black t-shirt, dark patches on his back where he'd sweated through it. Its sleeves were short so Yixing got a good view of his armpit when he sat back down and propped his elbows on the table. Any other day, he'd try to cuddle up to him, nose under his arm, but Kyungsoo had buried his face in his hands, a gesture he only allowed himself when he was too tired to think.

Yixing sat up when Sehun came over to gracefully set down their milkshakes and dump the beanie and a blanket on his head. "Still recommending you for a raise," he called after him, then leaned into Kyungsoo, a hand on his thigh, and kissed the hand obstructing his cheek.

"It's really work or die, huh," Kyungsoo said, flatly.

So tonight was one of those nights. Yixing let go of him, pulled on the beanie and spread the blanket over his own legs, dimming the light emanating from him effectively, then pulled at it to cover Kyungsoo's as well. It wouldn't prevent the worst case, not in the mood Kyungsoo was in tonight, but even just dragging it out long enough would be a success. He pushed one of the milkshakes over, lifting the straw to tap at Kyungsoo's lips until he let him fit it between them.

"Let's quit and steal—" Yixing couldn't think of a single thing worth stealing from work—Kyungsoo aside. He took a long sip of his own milkshake. It was cold and creamy, had a rich, spicy but soothing taste. The staff here was always improving the recipes; Yixing would give them his life savings, if he had any.

"What are you going to steal?" Sehun asked. He set the tray full of food down on the table and plopped into the seat across, starting to distribute their main dishes. "Can I be your getaway driver?"

"Finish your degree first," Kyungsoo said. He folded his hands under the table, and Yixing knew he was letting the first tendrils of black stick to the underside. "We're not feeding you every night so you can get into trouble."

"So what's going on, your boss bought another yacht?"

"If only," Yixing replied, breaking his chopsticks apart. "We're not sure what he's up to, but we're going through reforms again so I guess he's saving for something."

Kyungsoo sniffed the spoonful of stew thoughtfully before he added, "He tightened our schedules again. We're down to four minutes per dreamer, and that's for children, too. He knows it's impossible to take dream probes in four minutes and check their mental health in that timeframe. I don't know how the others do it, but I have to cut down on checking the adults to even extract the kids' probes."

Yixing nodded. "It's basically the only way. I had four kids waking up on me tonight, and that's at least a quarter-hour each to find their favourite dream memory or a song or story that will calm them down. Not to mention the wipes."

"I hate wiping memories," Kyungsoo said, stirring his stew dejectedly. "It's not even routinely necessary, if the labs would just catalogue the probes properly and forward the info so we could wipe when needed."

Sehun looked so unhappy and helpless, pouring over his noodles, that Yixing reached over the table to pull a dog keychain from behind his ear.

"Where did you find this, it looks exactly like Vivi," he said, thoroughly distracted. The smile brightening his face was worth all the hours and days Yixing poured into learning a bunch of cheap magic tricks.

"You always had it in you," Yixing said. He picked up his cloth napkin and fanned at the black, dense smoke pouring out of Kyungsoo's t-shirt, even as he laughed at his bad joke. It retreated a bit, and even more so when Yixing dropped another kiss on his arm and one more on the side of his neck.

Sehun's smile had a softer quality when he looked at him again. "You two are so cute," he told them.

"You're just saying that because we feed you." Kyungsoo picked up his spoon with his left hand and let his right hand drift towards Yixing's, holding on to it tightly even as the black goop seeped between them.

"Of course," Sehun said. "You should hear the things I say for pocket money."

**Author's Note:**

> they're like... nurses but for dreams, though i hope that was obvious? ;;;
> 
> and sorry, the armpit enthusiast jumped out. they're sorely underrated body parts though!
> 
> ty for reading 🧪  
please let me know if it made you feel anything
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/fakeclover) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/fakeclover)


End file.
